WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson joined a press conference with female members of the Democratic Caucus on Thursday to stress the impact the upcoming budget cuts will have on women and families.
In the state of Texas, approximately 600,000 women and children would be dropped from the Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) from March through September. Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 4,800 children in Texas, reducing access to critical early education. Close to 2,300 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care.
Congresswoman Johnson stated after the press conference, “Women and children will be hit the hardest by the sequester. Programs like Head Start and child care services, the vital services that the American people depend on everyday to care for their families, will be eliminated for thousands of women. The GOP is asking women and children to bear the burden of the sequester, and that is disgraceful.”
“The American people need to know the consequences of these budget cuts, and how many women and children will be severely affected. The sequester will be detrimental to the growth of our economy and the investments we have made for our future,” Congresswoman Johnson noted. “We are doing a disservice to the American people by allowing these cuts to take place, and I urge my Republican colleagues to seriously consider the harm they are causing to our country.”
